The Thrifty Rocketeer

The Thrifty Rocketeer continues... Stop me if I've already told you this one. Almost six years ago, I had a passing interest in rocketry, but had never acted upon it.  Year after year, I would see a wire service story describing how the Rocket Boys had just held a convention or gathering in southern West Virginia once again and how well it was attended and helped the local economy. Seems like after a year or two, they were talking about how it had been shifted to Beckley, WV because they had more facilities (hotels, restaurants, transportation, highways, etc) to accommodate the visitors.  And they had provided for guided tours of Coalwood and the environs where the real life story of Homer Hickham had occurred. But THIS year, I spotted a preview story, that talked about what was to come that weekend, and it was only Friday evening. As a result, I had an opportunity to join in. Except, Beckley and Coalwood was a long ways away.... probably 3 hours commute one way, and ...

The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... Never let it be said that the ol' Thrifty Rocketeer doesn't enjoy a bargain. While I'm not in the habit of being a shill for any particular company, I do appreciate when something unique comes up, or is being sold-off, marked down, or phased out. I've probably already mentioned one or two of these in the past, so at the risk of plugging one source over many others, let me highlight something that caught my eye. My first model rocket was a simple Skill Level 2 kit that I bought while on my way to a club launch across the state from me. I snagged the Freedom II kit and cut my teeth on it later that weekend.  While at that launch, I invested in my first (and only) scale model rocket, "The Iris", which I bought because it shared the same motors as the Freedom II kit I already had bought. But the THIRD rocket kit I bought, was really something unique, and I picked it up in part because of that unique appeal, (and par...